Building the Rebel persona – 4.1: Naboo soft kit

Based on the broad trends noted in the previous post, I decided that my Naboo civilian impression would need (at minimum) a tunic, trousers, and tall boots, and possibly an outer layer as well.

The tunic would need to follow local style, and so be in a muted color, have an overlapping and/or asymmetrical closure, a high Mandarin collar, and long sleeves, probably without cuffs.
Silks are most commonly mentioned in upper-class contexts, but I needed something more functional; and I already had 1.5 yards of 7.1 ounce 100% linen ($11) that was languishing in my scraps bin.
The design elements I had teased out follow suggestions given by Trisha Biggar (in interviews and Dressing a Galaxy) that in addition to the aforementioned Renaissance Italian styles, Naboo clothing utilized elements of Asian dress, and so after much searching and deliberation, I started with a Vietnamese ao dai. I modified the pattern to use sleeves from a USGI dress shirt (instead of the Raglan sleeves usual with ao dai), and extended the collar a small amount to better match Panaka’s. In accordance with Lucas’ mandate that fasteners not be seen, the tunic closes with Velcro and a tiny hook and eye at the collar. All seams have been machine sewn and hand finished.

The fabric was originally a color called ‘Rattan’, which I overdyed with RIT ‘golden yellow’, giving it a wonderful mustard-y shade that is at once richly colored but also subdued–exactly what Naboo clothing in 1BBY should be!

(Of course, it was only after I finished the tunic that I come across Bernie Jabesq and his mustard-yellow, asymmetrical flightsuit! However, I like to think that my shirt is more civilian, less utilitarian, and somewhat more modern than those of the Theed Engineers of 32 BBY.)

-For my bottom half, I had two options. First were a pair of OD wool gabardine Soviet-pattern jodhpurs (sharovari), which I had laying around from my RKKA-collecting days ($38). As I had discovered in my research, trousers in this cut are a ‘traditional’ Naboo style; although I believe these still need some further tweaking to make them fit the in-universe look: something akin to Han Solo’s bloodstripes, without which he’s just wearing blue denim. (it’s the little details like these that help take an impression from being merely ‘cool’ to ‘legitimately authentic’).

Alternately, I am very fond of these high-waisted trousers which I found at my local thrift store ($3) and to which I only had to do minimal modifications. I tailored the lower legs to better fit, and added a second belt loop at the center back, allowing for more comfortable use of Y-straps.
These are 100% cotton, and have rear flap pockets, a tool loop on the left thigh, and a weird pocket on the right thigh. I would say that these are much more 1 BBY/off-world in style, drawing in some spacer/smuggler elements, versus the jodhpurs which are more traditional local style. They also give a much more flattering silhouette when worn with or without a jacket.

To hold these trousers up at the right height, I wear my old standby plain leather belt, with a plain oval buckle. As the oval is more naturalistic, I feel it is more indicative of local Naboo design/philosophy, and is less militaristic than my usual rectangle buckle (although either is appropriate for the period).

My footwear was a pretty easy choice to make, as I had already been thinking about replacing my old 2011 East German jackboots, the toes of which have been slowly deteriorating over the last few years (begun by a few unlucky hits with an adze while canoe-building in 2014).

Luckily, having smaller-to-averaged size feet, I was able to find a pair of Finnish jackboots in my size for a very decent price ($70 shipped). These come about a handspan below my knees. Due to the more supple leather used by the Finnish boots, they were initially very floppy and would not stand up to their full height. To solve this issue, I cannibalized the East German boots for their stiff uppers and glued them inside the Finnish uppers.

Like John Mollo’s Rebel troopers in the original film, this impression sometimes needs an extra layer, “to make [it] more interesting”! (SWCOT p22). Seemingly to fill my need, this jacket appeared at my thrift store ($2). Like the fitted trousers, I feel this jacket owes a lot to offworld spacer/smuggler style. At first it seemed reminiscent of Han Solo’s various vests and jackets, as well as WWII field and suit jackets worn by historic partisans. However, I now think that it MIGHT ought to be shortened—especially when worn with jodhpurs—to waist level, to become more of a sleeved vest. (this will necessitate moving the pockets up as well.

When worn over the yellow tunic, rolling up the jacket’s sleeves helps achieve a modern iteration of the classical Naboo sleeve style as seen evolving throughout the Prequel Trilogy:

These elements combine with my items of hard kit to successfully create a realistic impression of a civilian Rebel partisan on Naboo in the 1 BBY period:

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